BANKING/FINANCE

In an economy move, Beach Savings Bank is closing its Huntington Beach office and consolidating operations 2 miles down the road in its Fountain Valley branch, where its administrative headquarters has been for more than a year.

Beach Savings, which opened three years ago in Huntington Beach, expects regulators to approve the move sometime in the next two months, said Ernest Thompson, president of the savings and loan.

Thompson said no layoffs are anticipated, though current and future vacancies won’t be filled. The biggest savings, he said, is on rent for the Huntington Beach facility.

Most of the S&L;’s core deposits--accounts held by local residents--are at the Fountain Valley branch, he said. Less than 15% of such accounts are at the Huntington Beach branch, which has been used mainly as a so-called money desk to solicit large deposits from institutional investors.

Two other S&Ls--Lincoln; Savings and San Clemente Savings, both headquartered in Irvine--are awaiting regulatory approval for new branches. Lincoln wants to open an office in Thousand Oaks, marking its 30th branch in Southern California. San Clemente, with five offices in south Orange County, is seeking approval for a branch in Seal Beach.